Marine Corps allows some on-base underage drinking

NORTH COUNTY - The Marine Corps has changed its rules on
drinking to allow Marines as young as 18 to drink on Camp Pendleton
and other Marine bases on special occasions, a decision that has
been cheered by some Marines but has upset anti-drinking
groups.

Last month, the commandant of the Marine Corps issued changes to
the service's drinking regulations that allow Marines who are at
least 18 years old to drink on base on occasions designated by
commanders, including the popular Marine Corps birthday
celebrations held in November and at welcome-home parties after
combat deployments.

The minimum drinking age in California is 21.

The measure has taken effect at Camp Pendleton. And while there
have been no events held under the new rule yet, Marines
interviewed Thursday said they were looking forward to being able
to consume alcohol legally on special occasions.

It was unclear Thursday whether allowing underage Marines to
drink on base at Camp Pendleton or other California Marine Corps
installations would violate Department of Defense regulations or
violate state law.

Officials with the California attorney general's office did not
return phone calls Thursday asking whether underage Marines
drinking on base would violate state law. Camp Pendleton officials
did not respond to phone calls or information requests sent by
e-mail.

In addition to allowing some underage drinking on U.S. bases,
the new rules also allow off-duty Marines who are 18 and older to
drink on port calls in countries where the legal drinking age is
lower than 21. Though other services have allowed off-duty troops
to drink alcohol in countries where the legal drinking age is
lower, the Marine Corps has historically allowed drinking only for
troops who are 21.

Marines running errands in downtown Oceanside said Thursday that
the new rules make sense in a culture that allows them to fight for
their country abroad but not to toast their deployments when they
return.

Lance Cpl. Shane Routy stopped into Dorothy's Military Shop and
Laundry on Thursday to pick up a uniform. The 20-year-old Marine,
who is leaving for his first deployment to Iraq in January, said he
agreed with the cliche that, "if you can die for your country, you
should be able to drink."

Besides, Routy said, underage drinking, although not condoned by
the Marine Corps, is common among underage Marines.

"We don't hide it -- we just don't get caught," said Routy, who
is from Riverside. "I think we drink pretty responsibly."

Cpl. Stephen Myers, 23, agreed that he didn't expect the rule
change to have much of an effect.

"It doesn't change (things) that much," said the Payson, Ariz.,
resident, who is returning to Iraq on his second deployment in
January.

He said that some of his fellow Marines had been discussing the
rule change and the consensus of opinion was that it was not a bad
idea.

"Drinking gives us a sense of relaxation when we get back from
deployment," Myers said.

Commandant spokesman Johnson said the Marine policy does not
condone such "unsupervised" underage drinking.